Here is a copy of an article we wrote for the St Louis Park magazine on how to keep your pets safe for the 4th of July.

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Keep your furry friends healthy and happy on the Fourth of July.

The Fourth of July holiday is a lot of fun for humans, but dogs don’t always feel the same way. My dog Roxy is terrified of fireworks, and often won’t leave the house for several hours after she hears one. In addition to fireworks, other Independence Day activities can be scary—or even dangerous—for dogs. Here are a few tips for keeping your pooch healthy and happy this Fourth.

Keep dogs inside. You never know when a firework might go off nearby. When dogs are scared, they need to be in a safe, familiar place. When they do go outside, keep them on a leash and keep the outing brief. Aim for longer walks in the morning, when things are quiet. If you go out to parties or fireworks, leave your pooch at home with the air conditioning running and some calm music on.

No table scraps. It’s tempting for dogs to hang out near the barbecue grill, but many common picnic foods are dangerous to dogs—including grapes, avocado, onions and chocolate. To make sure Rover is included in the fun, try some made-for-dogs Bowser Beer or Yoghund ice cream, both available at local pet stores.

Try a calming tablet. During fireworks and thunderstorms, try a natural calming aid like NaturVet’s Quiet Moments tablets, which can help reduce mild and moderate anxiety in dogs. Of course, chat with your vet about any supplements or medications.

Keep collar and tags on. Make sure your pooch wears her collar at all times with your contact information attached. If she does get lost, check the Lost Dogs Minnesota Facebook page, a great resource with over 55,000 followers. —Keith Miller, co-owner of Bubbly Paws Dog Wash and Pampered Pooch Playground.

The dog flu has not come to the Twin Cities, but KARE 11 stopped out to our doggy daycare to see how we are preparing incase it spreads to the Twin Cities. We keep a close eye on the outbreak and will keep our customers updated.

The other night was the Best of St Louis Park awards and I am so excited that both of our businesses went home with an award! Bubbly Paws, our dog wash won "Best Place to Spoil Your Pooch" and Pampered Pooch Playground, our doggy daycare won "Best Dog Daycare". This is the 3rd year in a row that both our businesses have won a "best of" award and I can't be more proud of our staff who work so hard each day taking care of all the dogs. For a complete list of winners, you can visit the St Louis Park Magazine website.
Below is a short list of some of my favorite winners:

Best Bakery - Honey and Rye - They are located down the street from Bubbly Paws and serve up the most amazing coffee and pastries!

Best Fitness Studio - Lifetime Fitness - One of my absolute favorite classes is their Crossfit class (which they call Alpha). You will catch me at that class at least 3 times a week. The trainers are great and we have a small little family!

Best Boutique - Primp - Located at the West End and they are super dog friendly!

It is no secret... The Linden Hills Woofstock is on of our favorite events of the year, which is why we have sponsored it for the the past 5 years! Last Saturday, Todd Walker from FOX 9 stopped out to the Bubbly Paws booth to see what fun things we had going on. A big thanks to Off Leash Collars for use of Ping (the black lab). Also featured in the segment is Kay Elliott who wrote the children's book, SunDogs.

Trycia and Keith Miller launched their dog day-care center five years ago. They initially opened it for their beloved Bernese mountain dog named Roxy. Today the Millers manage about 95 dogs per day at the Pampered Pooch Playground. They have three separate rooms for canine frolicking, including 11,000 square feet of climate-controlled indoor space and a 3,500-square-foot outdoor area. There are also luxury suites for the extremely pampered pooch.

“Minnesota is unregulated for doggie day care, so it’s a point of concern for dog owners,” Keith Miller says. “Someone could rent any old garage and put 60 dogs in it.” The Millers do everything they can to alleviate worry. Pampered Pooch is the first dog day care in the country to have iPhone, Android and Blackberry apps so owners can watch their pups at play, day and night. There are 11 live webcams streaming from the three playrooms and regular Facebook posts and tweets. The outside play area is made with recycled sports turf, which is ecologically appropriate and, unlike gravel or Astroturf, easy to clean.

“The St. Louis Park pet business network is really supportive,” Keith Miller says. “If someone had a fire or got sick, they could bring their dogs to us or I would go work at their place to help out.” Miller stays current on developments in the doggie care world and is a fan of the “busman’s holiday”: Whenever he travels, he stops by other pet care facilities to take notes on what they’re doing right and what he would like to avoid in his own establishment. “There’s a real difference in big-city day cares,” he notes, adding many have a less than fragrant smell. 7020 Walker St.; 952.922.8183; pamperedpoochplayground.com

Bubbly Paws is the Millers’ laidback little brother to their high-maintenance big baby, the Pampered Pooch Playground. The Millers opened Bubbly Paws two years ago, mainly as place to wash their own Roxy, a 100-pound Bernese whose bulk and thick hair demand an elaborate bathing process. They nabbed a light and airy space in the busy Excelsior/Grand complex and outfitted it with five elevated step-in tubs with shower hoses, a grooming room and a drying room. Customers can bathe their dogs themselves or pay a bit more for a house shampoo.

The Millers are dedicated to the St. Louis Park community and even use a locally made shampoo, which is actually a reformulated horse shampoo. “I like it because it doesn’t smell fake or overpowering,” Keith says. “I mean, I’m a guy, so I couldn’t care less about smelling like flowers.” Nevertheless Bubbly Paws’ grooming services offer plenty of bling for their canine clients, including toenail polish and in one unusual case, a pink polka-dot dye job.

The couple loves the tight-knit animal owning community in St. Louis Park. “People know each others’ dog’s names. Everyone goes to the Dakota dog park and people recognize each other [from the dog park],” Keith Miller says. “I’ve seen love connections happen here. Seriously, if you were a single guy, why wouldn’t you get a dog?” Miller dreams about opening a pet rental business for hopeful single guys hanging around the dog park. In the meantime, “we just have fun here,” he says. “C’mon, it’s a dog wash!” Each month Bubbly Paws gives back to support a different pet rescue organization, donating $5 from each bath, and hosting creatively awesome occasions like doggie yoga and doggie happy hour. 3730 Grand Way; 952.657.5300; bubblypaws.com

Pet Friendly SLP

We also provided St Louis Park Magazine a list of some of the pet friendly businesses in St Louis Park:

Primp
Hosts fundraisers for a local pet rescue
1628 West End Blvd.; 952.303.3791; primpyourself.com

Lululemon
Stop in with your dog and get a treat
1639 West End Blvd.; 763.545.9069; lululemon.com

McCoy’s Public House
Dogs can hang out and get treats on the patio
3801 Grand Way; 952.224.9494; mccoyspublichouse.com

Trycia was featured talking about Pampered Pooch Playground and Bubbly Paws Dog Wash in the latest edition of Pet Age magazine (an industry publication). You can read the story below (click the image to make it bigger).

Earlier in the week we were contacted by KDWB asking if we wanted to help with Dave Ryan's Christmas Wish. Our donation would help a Twin Cities family in need this holiday season and make sure their dog was taken care of! How could we say no to this! Since then, we have gotten emails from many people thanking us for our generous donation, and others asking if they could hear the whole story of where our donation went. You can Click Here to download the MP3 of the story or hit the play button below.
Have a great day!